Food Science and Nutrition with Professional Studies

Food science and nutrition are disciplines that address two fundamental questions: what is food made of and how does it behave, and how does what we eat affect our health? Food science is concerned with the physical, chemical, and microbiological properties of food, including how these determine quality, safety, and shelf life, and how food processing can enhance or undermine them. Nutrition focuses on how the body uses the nutrients food provides, and on the relationships between diet, health, and disease.

Together, they form a rigorous scientific foundation for careers across the food industry, public health, and research.

At Queen's University Belfast, this four-year full-time programme, which includes a professional studies placement year, gives you a comprehensive grounding in all three areas: food science, food safety, and nutrition. You will study the sensory and physical properties of food, understanding how appearance, texture, flavour, and odour are created and can be improved. You will examine the microbiological and chemical risks in the food supply and learn how they can be minimised.

On the nutrition side, you will explore how nutrients support human health across the life course, and how dietary patterns relate to health outcomes. The professional studies year provides extended work experience in the food industry or a related sector, making your graduate profile significantly stronger and giving you practical context for the science you have studied.

Graduates from food science and nutrition programmes are well placed across a range of careers. The food and drink industry employs graduates in product development, quality assurance, food safety management, and regulatory roles. Public health agencies, NHS dietetic services (for those who continue to postgraduate dietetic training), government food advisory bodies, and consumer organisations are further destinations.

Research roles in universities and food science institutes are open to those who wish to continue to postgraduate study, and the scientific rigour of the degree also prepares graduates for postgraduate programmes in nutrition, food technology, public health, and related fields.